November 4, 2012

Mendacious Mitt

Living in Pennsylvania, I have not seen a lot of Obama for President TV spots. My impression, however, is that the kind of spots I would like to see
have not been made. I would like to see TV ads with clips of Mitt Romney expressing his many views on the same subject over the years. His views on abortion probably provide the most grist for the political mill, but his view of foreign policy would probably work almost as well.

The video below from Slate is clearly too long for a TV spot, but it suggests the kind of resources available to a willing political operative. It is easy to see why Mitt Romney’s position has been called “multiple choice.”

Politicians shade the truth all the time. That may not be right, but it is reality, particularly when there is a perceived need to communicate a message in 30 seconds. Never have I seen a campaign like the Romney campaign, however, in which not only does the candidate or his supporters flat out lie, but also, when the lies are pointed out, the American people get neither a retraction nor an apology. Instead, the campaign simply doubles down, continuing to run dishonest ads with impunity.

On the matter of its advertising, the Romney campaign has, in fact, been scrupulously truthful: “We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers”
[Romney pollster Neil Newhouse]. He certainly got that right!

If a presidential candidate will lie to get elected, do we have any reasonable expectation that he will level with Americans when he is president? Is the nation that venerates Honest Abe ready to elect Mendacious Mitt?

1 comment:

As the standard barer for the Republican Party, the man, Mitt Romney, taints the whole GOP establishment with his blatant lies and whenever covenient brushes with honorability/truth. As a Bishop/Stake President/etc. of Mormonism (LDS) he, in my opinion, makes the whole pack of believers/followers/etc. seem untrustworthy (and somewhat degraded by supporting such lies)...I sicken, a real reaction, at the thought of a Romney Presidency...has the National ability to discern right vs. wrong sunk so low? I don´t think so. Tuesday is coming and we will know what a large slice of what America thinks of ¨personal character¨ and the presidency...the world will see...can´t come a moment too soon for me.